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How Trump might use U.S. technology dominance against Europe

How Trump might use U.S. technology dominance against Europe

The New York Times reports: When President Trump issued an executive order in February against the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court for investigating Israel for war crimes, Microsoft was suddenly thrust into the middle of a geopolitical fight. For years, Microsoft had supplied the court — which is based in The Hague in the Netherlands and investigates and prosecutes human rights breaches, genocides and other crimes of international concern — with digital services such as email. Mr. Trump’s…

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Humans adapted to diverse habitats before successfully populating Eurasia

Humans adapted to diverse habitats before successfully populating Eurasia

Live Science reports: Before modern humans began their major dispersal out of Africa about 50,000 years ago, they moved to places that were significantly more ecologically diverse, which may have given them the flexibility they needed to migrate across the globe, a new study finds. Our species, Homo sapiens, originated in Africa more than 300,000 years ago. Genetic evidence suggests that all modern human populations outside Africa mostly descend from a small group of modern humans who started migrating out…

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Iran FM held direct talks with Witkoff amid intensifying conflict with Israel, diplomats say

Iran FM held direct talks with Witkoff amid intensifying conflict with Israel, diplomats say

Reuters reports: U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi have spoken by phone several times since Israel began its strikes on Iran last week, in a bid to find a diplomatic end to the crisis, three diplomats told Reuters. According to the diplomats, who asked not to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter, Araqchi said Tehran would not return to negotiations unless Israel stopped the attacks, which began on June 13. They said…

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Trump’s caution on Iran strike linked to doubts over effectiveness of ‘bunker buster’ bomb, officials say

Trump’s caution on Iran strike linked to doubts over effectiveness of ‘bunker buster’ bomb, officials say

The Guardian reports: Donald Trump has suggested to defense officials it would make sense for the US to launch strikes against Iran only if the so-called “bunker buster” bomb was guaranteed to destroy the critical uranium enrichment facility at Fordow, according to people familiar with the deliberations. Trump was told that dropping the GBU-57s, a 13.6-tonne (30,000lb) bomb would effectively eliminate Fordow but he does not appear to be fully convinced, the people said, and has held off authorizing strikes…

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U.S. on brink of getting dragged into Israel’s war on Iran but ‘nobody is talking to Hegseth’

U.S. on brink of getting dragged into Israel’s war on Iran but ‘nobody is talking to Hegseth’

The Washington Post reports: As the United States moves additional military forces into the Middle East to help defend Israel from Iranian counterstrikes, protect U.S. assets and possibly launch bunker-busting bombs at Iran’s buried nuclear sites, Trump is relying more on a pair of four-star generals than on Hegseth, his defense secretary, according to three U.S. officials. The generals are Caine, the Joint Chiefs chairman; and Army Gen. Michael “Erik” Kurilla, commander of U.S. Central Command, which has operational authority…

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Netanyahu highlights ‘personal cost’ inflicted on his family by war: another postponed wedding

Netanyahu highlights ‘personal cost’ inflicted on his family by war: another postponed wedding

The Guardian reports: Benjamin Netanyahu has evoked the spirit of London during the blitz, and pointed to his own family’s sacrifice amid the blood, toil, tears and sweat of his nation: the second postponement of his son’s wedding. The Israeli prime minister’s remarks, solemnly delivered to the cameras against the backdrop of a missile-struck hospital building in the southern city of Beersheba, set off a howl of derision that echoed around the Hebrew-language internet, at the height of a war…

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With Iran war as pretext, Israel suffocates the West Bank

With Iran war as pretext, Israel suffocates the West Bank

Shatha Yaish reports: As Israelis awoke early last Friday morning to discover that their country had started a war with Iran, Palestinians in the West Bank found that the Israeli army had placed them under lockdown. Closures and checkpoints have been the norm in the occupied territory for decades, becoming even more numerous and restrictive in the wake of October 7. But after striking Iran, the army reduced Palestinians’ movement to a near-total standstill — sealing off towns and cities with iron gates, closing checkpoints between the West…

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Federal judge appointed by Reagan: ‘I’ve never seen government racial discrimination like this’

Federal judge appointed by Reagan: ‘I’ve never seen government racial discrimination like this’

Politico reports: A federal judge appointed by Ronald Reagan on Monday accused the Trump administration of “appalling” and “palpably clear” discrimination against racial minorities and LGBTQ+ Americans. “I’ve never seen a record where racial discrimination was so palpable. I’ve sat on this bench now for 40 years. I’ve never seen government racial discrimination like this,” said U.S. District Judge William Young, a Massachusetts-based jurist who took the bench in 1985. Young’s sweeping rebuke during a court hearing was a reference…

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Our crisis, not of loneliness, but of people becoming invisible

Our crisis, not of loneliness, but of people becoming invisible

Allison J Pugh writes: Paul was a gig worker in the San Francisco Bay Area. Formerly a project manager in tech until several companies in a row laid him off, he started working entirely for platforms like Lyft, Uber and TaskRabbit. He managed to eke out a living, but the jobs posed a different problem. ‘Honestly, a lot of times, I go out and the person doesn’t even know my name, even though I introduced myself as Paul,’ he told…

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Is the MAGA movement really antiwar?

Is the MAGA movement really antiwar?

Tucker Carlson confronts Sen. Ted Cruz on his support for regime change in Iran:   Greg Sargent writes: You may have heard it said that Donald Trump won in 2024 in part by vowing to end “forever wars.” During the campaign, Trump ripped Democrat Kamala Harris for campaigning with Liz Cheney, slamming her for wanting “war with every Muslim Country known to mankind.” News organizations credulously insisted that this sort of anger over military entanglements in Iraq and Afghanistan fueled…

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GOP Sen. Josh Hawley warns Trump against entering Israel’s war on Iran. Trump approves attack plan

GOP Sen. Josh Hawley warns Trump against entering Israel’s war on Iran. Trump approves attack plan

The New Republic reports: Senator Josh Hawley has added his name to the short list of Republicans in Congress voicing their opposition to Trump’s current and potential further support of Israel’s war on Iran. “Josh Hawley, who spoke to Trump last night, told me he ‘would not’ be comfortable if the US took offensive action against Iran,” CNN’s Manu Raju posted on X on Wednesday. “I don’t want us fighting a war. I don’t want another Mideast war…. I’m a…

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Vali Nasr warns about the ‘Syriafication’ of Iran

Vali Nasr warns about the ‘Syriafication’ of Iran

'Israel wants once and for all to deal with the Iran problem' Speaking to @SkyYaldaHakim, @vali_nasr adds: 'Israel's concern is the collapse of the Iranian state, not just the regime'https://t.co/sWLCyUvG5E 📺 Sky 501, Virgin 602, Freeview 233 and YouTube pic.twitter.com/00F3J0lrVF — Sky News (@SkyNews) June 17, 2025

Netanyahu’s Iran gambit, aimed to realign the world behind Israel, may backfire

Netanyahu’s Iran gambit, aimed to realign the world behind Israel, may backfire

+972 reports: Five days after Israel launched a surprise attack on Iran, this volatile new war shows no signs of winding down. What began with a series of Israeli airstrikes on Iranian nuclear sites, military leaders, and scientists has escalated into a tit-for-tat exchange, with civilians in Israel and Iran bearing the brunt of the damage. While Israel has claimed initial tactical victories — establishing aerial dominance and carrying out coordinated operations inside Iranian territory — it now faces mounting…

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Why Israel’s attacks are backfiring as Iranians rally around the flag

Why Israel’s attacks are backfiring as Iranians rally around the flag

Mohammad Eslami and Ibrahim al-Marashi write: Israel appears to have forgotten a lesson from the Iraqi invasion of Iran in 1980. Instead of inducing regime change, it led to the people of Iran rallying behind the Islamic Republic in the name of nationalism, not necessarily out of love for the clerical elite. Rather than fuelling internal dissent, Israel’s recent strikes have similarly sparked a resurgence of nationalist feeling – centred not on support for the regime, but on defence of…

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